RAS question
Nandur Madhmeshwar Bird Sanctuary, Maharashtra's first Ramsar site, is designated in:
Correct answer: (A) 2019.
Nandur Madhmeshwar Bird Sanctuary in Maharashtra was designated as a Ramsar site in 2019.
Explanation
Nandur Madhmeshwar is Maharashtra's first Ramsar site, and the Ramsar Sites Information Service lists its designation date as 21 June 2019. The site is in Maharashtra, India, and the official Ramsar profile describes it as a wetland mosaic of lakes, marshes and riparian forest on the Deccan Plateau. Its setting at the confluence of the Godavari and Kadwa rivers is important: the Nandur Madhameshwar Weir helped create the wetland, which now functions as a biodiversity hotspot. The wetland supports more than 270 bird species, while the Ramsar profile records 536 species overall. The year to remember for the exam is therefore 2019, not a later or much earlier Ramsar listing year.
Why the other options are wrong
- (B) 2022 is later than the official Ramsar designation date of 21 June 2019 for Nandur Madhmeshwar.
- (C) 1990 is much earlier than the Ramsar profile's listed designation date and does not match the 2019 listing.
- (D) 2010 is earlier than the official designation date, so it cannot be the year Maharashtra's first Ramsar site was listed.
Concept
This tests Environment and Ecology under Ramsar wetlands: matching a protected wetland with its designation year and location. Such facts recur in RAS because Ramsar sites combine static geography, conservation status and recent-enough chronology.